What would you do if you only had several hours left to come up with a large sum of money? That money in question is urgently needed to buy the house or face eviction. Such a dilemma happens to poor Lynette (Vanessa Kirby), who is already struggling to make ends meet working two dead-end jobs. Right from the start, the background voice of news reports plays over the opening credits as we learn everything from the downward spiral of wages to the housing crisis, mirroring Lynette’s current scenario.
The loan company has been chasing her early in the morning with a phone call for outstanding payments. She has to put up with her fickle-minded mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh), while her older brother Kenny (Zack Gottsagen) diagnosed with Down syndrome, can’t get a job to ease the family burden due to his condition. It’s not entirely doom and gloom as their landlord, David (J. Clause Deering), offers them a chance to keep living in the house. The condition? Prepare $25,000 for the down payment and a co-signature from Lynette and her mother, where the two will meet up at the attorney’s office. The good news is that they have the money.
But then, something unexpected happens: Not only does Lynette’s mother fail to show up for the appointment as promised, but she also ends up spending all the money on something that’s only going to make things worse than they already are. The landlord doesn’t care about the setback, as Lynette is given an ultimatum: Gather $25,000 by tomorrow at 9 am or lose the house. The problem is, it’s getting late, and how is she going to cough up that much? The clock is ticking, and desperation naturally kicks in.
Night Always Comes, which is adapted from Willy Vlautin’s 2021 book of the same name, takes place in a single night. A movie like this, featuring a desperate protagonist resorting to desperate measures trying to get the money before the deadline, is an intriguing premise. Well, at least on paper. But the execution tells a different story. Under the direction of Benjamin Caron, whose previous feature was the spotty but ambitious con-artist thriller Sharper, but he’s better known for his television works in series like The Crown and Andor, the movie lacks the much-needed dramatic urgency to propel its storyline. I can’t help but feel the stakes, supposedly reflecting Lynette’s state of despair and hopelessness, are strangely subdued.
It’s not like Kirby doesn’t try her best here. It’s just that her committed performance doesn’t match the story’s low-energy structure. As the movie progresses, Lynette’s quest begins with her hooking up with her regular client, a married man named Scott (Randall Park), at a bar to ask if he can lend her the money. But all Scott cares about is having a good time with her. He still pays her as usual for sex. What follows next is a series of one plot point after another. This includes Lynette ending up stealing Scott’s Mercedes, asking her former escort friend Gloria (Julia Fox) for some monetary help, and seeking Cody’s (Stephan James) assistance from work.
The latter used to serve time in prison, and she figures his past can help her to break open a safe at the luxury apartment that belongs to Gloria’s wealthy client. Cody, who’s already turning a new leaf, initially hesitated but agrees to do it for a fee. The ensuing story leads Lynette and Cody to meet up with Cody’s acquaintance (Sean Martini), who can help her open the safe, resulting in a few tense moments.
For a while there, Caron manages to pick up the pace, only for the momentum to dwindle. We also learn the bits and pieces about Lynette’s dark past, particularly during her subsequent meet-ups with Tommy (Michael Kelly) and Blake (Eli Roth). The late-in-the-game exposition somehow dilutes the intensity when it is supposed to ratchet up the tension, given its storyline’s approach towards the third act.
And speaking of the latter, this is where it gets anticlimactic, as the story attempts to inject some emotional weight between Lynette and her mother. It’s a pity that Kirby’s otherwise engrossing lead performance isn’t enough to offset most of the movie’s shortcomings. The story actually has lots of potential, but the inconsistent pacing, coupled with some uninvolving moments, puts the movie at a disadvantage.
The supporting cast is a mixed bag, with the otherwise reliable Jennifer Jason Leigh sadly underutilized comes to mind, save for Zack Gottsagen’s sympathetic Kenny, along with Michael Kelly’s sleazy Tommy and Eli Roth’s volatile Blake. On the technical fronts, the movie benefits from Damián García’s atmospheric cinematography that captures the after-hours grit shot on location in Portland.
